Initial Capital is an investor in seed and early-stage technology companies with a focus on games, consumer services and technology enablers. They are not a traditional VC fund - they are a group of serial entrepreneurs who invest their own money and actively partner with world class teams to build global category winners.  Based out of London and Silicon Valley, they have played a key part in growing companies. Early stage fund raising is not just about money. It's about finding the best team around you to help with the ups and downs of the business and get ongoing advice on everything from product and tech to recruitment and growth. They know because they have been there.

Initial Capital

Founded in 2015, New Stack Ventures is an early-stage venture firm based Chicago, Illinois. The firm targets pre-seed and seed stage startups investing $300k - $2M.

New Stack Ventures

Lerer Hippeau is a seed-stage venture capital firm founded and operated in New York City. Since 2010, they have invested in entrepreneurs with great ideas who aren’t afraid to do hard things. Their portfolio includes more than 400 enterprise and consumer businesses including Guideline, MIRROR, Blockdaemon, K Health, Allbirds, ZenBusiness, and Thrive. They’re experienced operators who invest early and stay in their founders’ corners as they build iconic companies.

Lerer Hippeau

Techstars is a global platform that provides investment and innovation. Through the Techstars Worldwide Entrepreneur Network, founders and their teams connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners who will help their companies grow. Techstars operates four divisions: Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Program supercharges success and Techstars Startup Programs inspire, educate, and connect entrepreneurs. Techstars Venture Capital Fund invests in innovative and disruptive companies. Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships help brands create products and services. Techstars' accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,000 companies with a market cap of $8.1 billion.

Techstars

Shotcall

Shotcall is a platform and marketplace for fans to play games with their favorite people. Creators can engage with their community in a way that gives fans a chance to get off the sidelines and get in the game, while creating new revenue generating opportunities and more high-quality, shareable content. Shotcall provides a convenient way to organize deeply engaging community events, giving the streamer end to end control over session length, lobby size, and price.

Shotcall is an alumnus of the Techstars accelerator class of 2020 and provides a platform allowing users to create communities around games such as League of Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Streamers can host tournaments, coaching sessions, Q&amp;As, one-on-one competitions, and more. The platform is similar to Twitch but much smaller in scale. It is unique because it allows streamers to engage directly with their fans.

A foundational component to the next generation of digital entertainment.

Esports

Please welcome Shotcall, an interactive gaming platform connecting fans and their favorite gamers

Shotcall is an alumnus of the Techstars accelerator class of 2020 and provides a platform allowing users to create communities around games such as League of Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Streamers can host tournaments, coaching sessions, Q&amp;As, one-on-one competitions, and more. The platform is similar to Twitch but much smaller in scale. It is unique because it allows streamers to engage directly with their fans.Shotcall charges up to 25% of streamers’ earnings, depending on the type of event and partner status.As of October 2020, Shotcall has around 350 active hosts, and 4,500 users have been active on the platform over the past two months.

Stakester is a platform for gamers to compete against one another for cash prizes. The platform was launched in May 2020 and is currently available in 38 US states, the UK, and Singapore. As of November 2020, the platform has more than 15,000 users. Stakester has also established partnerships with ESL (Electronic Sports League) and GameByte (competitive gaming community).Stakester’s management includes Gary J. Foreman (co-founder of Rockstar Games) and Alan Patmore (former EVP and GM at Humble Bundle, GM of Mafia Wars and CityVille at Zynga), who joined as a strategic advisor and board member in June 2020.In November 2020, the company raised USD 2.7 million in seed funding led by RTP Global with participation from angel investors Jens Lapinski (CEO of Angel Invest and former MD of Techstars) and Chris Adelsbach (founding partner at Outrun Ventures and venture partner at Techstars). The funds will be used to grow its community by increasing the value of prizes on the platform. In addition, the company plans to expand its platform to Australia and Germany in the near future.

Stakester

Peru-based ESGPlay operates an esports platform that creates competitive esports tournaments.

ESGPlay

eMasters is a Brazilian esports platform that facilitates the creation of esports competitions with cash prizes. The platform supports games including League of Legends, Dota 2, and FIFA 19.

eMasters

Gaming Frog is a console based online esports tournament platform. The platform offers single player and multiplayer competitive matchups for cash prizes in FIFA.The platform officially launched in August 2019 and since has seen over 1,500 matches being played on the platform.Since launch, the platform claims to have attracted 3,500 users. The company has raised USD 150,000 from friends and family and is in the process of raising a USD 400,000 seed round. The company outlined plans to launch on Android, expand its development team, integrate artificial intelligence (AI), introduce a membership model and bring in NBA and Madden games into the platform.

Gaming Frog

NAG Studios is a Swedish startup focused on creating esports games and platforms. It was founded by esports and gaming industry veterans Peter Stahl (former head of development at Resolution Games, a game studio focused on augmented and virtual reality) and Johan Skott (former esports product owner at Tobii Tech, a unit of technology company Tobii AB). NAG’s vision entails building an esports game and platform which will incorporate the community (i.e., professional players, streamers, broadcasters, and viewers) from the beginning of the development process.The company raised USD 1 million in an extended pre-seed funding round led by London Venture Partners in October 2020. The company aims to use the funds to build its development team.

NAG Studios

Companies facilitating communication among esports players or between players and esports communities during gameplay.

Companies operating esports arenas and providing technical expertise for hosting and broadcasting competitive leagues and tournaments. 

Companies facilitating competitive online and in-person esports tournaments.

Companies producing and broadcasting esports related content.

Companies recruiting players to form professional teams and rosters for esports tournaments and leagues.

Companies developing esports related titles.

Commonly used in the tournament platforms segment to match players of equal skill

Shotcall

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